First Builders

What happens when a frustrated operator decides to solve her own problem—and ends up building one of the most empathetic AI companies in the market? Lisa Popovici, Co-founder of Siena AI, joins First Builders to share how running multiple e-commerce brands led her to create a conversational AI platform that actually understands customer sentiment, not just scripted keywords. Before launching Siena...

What does it take to make design a growth engine and not an afterthought? David Hoang, VP of Design at Atlassian and former design leader at Webflow, Replit, and One Medical, joins First Builders to share how intentional design can transform messy startup fog into clear, scalable roadmaps. As a designer, executive, angel investor, and writer of the Proof of Concept newsletter (11K+ subscribers), D...

How does a doctor become a startup founder? Danish Nagda, Co-Founder & CEO of Rezilient, joins First Builders to share his journey from the hospital floor to reimagining how care is delivered for high-risk patients. Danish left medicine to co-found Rezilient, a virtual-first care platform connecting patients to their providers in ways traditional systems can’t. He’s also the host of Uncanny Va...

What does it take to go from General Counsel to AI founder? In this episode of First Builders , Cecilia Ziniti—CEO of GC AI and former GC at multiple high-growth companies—joins Amber and Rachel to unpack how her legal and operational background set the stage for her leap into building. Cecilia shares how she spotted the right moment to launch in legaltech, what it really takes to lead in a noisy...

What happens when a high-growth operator turns founder—and builds a company rooted in personal mission? Koby Conrad, solo founder and CEO of Sunflower, joins First Builders to share his journey from Rupa Health’s go-to-market lead to creating a digital recovery platform for the 1.2 billion people affected by addiction. A former zero-to-one standout at Rupa Health, Koby helped scale the company fro...

Dan Perez is no stranger to high-stakes decisions. From walking away from an Oxford PhD program to scaling a digital health company through one of the most successful IPOs in recent years, Dan’s story is a masterclass in vision, conviction, and long-term thinking. In this episode of First Builders, Dan joins Amber and Rachel to unpack the origin story of Hinge Health—a digital MSK care platform no...

In this July 4th special, we’re taking a quick pause from new interviews to celebrate the sparks that launched First Builders. This 20-minute highlight reel brings together some of the most powerful moments from our first month of guests. You’ll hear: – Maia Bittner on resilience and scaling post-acquisition – Nathan Baschez on frameworks, writing, and building in public – Jason Prestinario on tak...

In this episode, we sit down with Maia Bittner - a three-time founder, angel investor, and early team member at Chime - to explore the arc of a builder’s journey from zero to IPO. Maia shares how she co-founded Pinch to improve financial stability for millennials, scaled at Chime after the acquisition, and has since become a backer of new founders as an investor at XFactor Ventures. We dive into t...

In this episode, we sit down with Jason Prestinario—Particle Health CEO of and former leader at Komodo Heath and Palantir Technologies —for a candid conversation about building in one of the most complex and regulated sectors in the world: healthcare. Jason talks about the difference between “product thinking” and “patient thinking,” why bundling in hospital systems leads to poor outcomes, and how...

In this episode, we sit down with Nathan Baschez —founder of Lex, former co-founder of Every, founding team at Substack, and creator of Divinations—to unpack how he thinks about building internet-native businesses. Nathan shares the operating principles behind virality, the power of writing as leverage, and why product intuition matters more than process in the earliest startup moments. We also ex...

In this episode, we’re joined by Rohini Pandhi —Head of Expansion at Mercury, former product leader at Square (Block), and current partner at Transparent Collective. We explore how Rohini identified Square and Mercury early on as accelerating environments dense with opportunity, why narrative is a core tool in both product and venture, and what it means to be a true “First Builder.” Disclaimer: Me...